Effects of alcohol abstinence on glucose metabolism in Japanese men with elevated fasting glucose: A pilot study

It has been demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption provides protection against the development of type 2 diabetes. However, several other reports suggested that moderate alcohol intake may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes in non-obese Japanese. The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of 1-week alcohol abstinence on hepatic insulin sensitivity and fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in non-obese Japanese men. We recruited 8 non-obese Japanese men with mildly elevated FPG and drinking habits alcohol (mean frequency; 5.6 ± 2.5 times/week, mean alcohol consumption; 32.1 ± 20.0 g/day). Before and after the 1-week alcohol abstinence, we used the 2-step hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp to measure endogenous glucose production (EGP) and insulin sensitivity (IS) in muscle and liver. One-week alcohol abstinence significantly reduced both FPG by 7% (from 105.5 ± 11.7 to 98.2 ± 7.8 mg/dl, P < 0.01) and fasting EGP by 6% (from 84.1 ± 4.2 to 77.6 ± 1.6 mg/m2 per min, P < 0.01), respectively. Two-step clamp study showed that alcohol abstinence significantly improved hepatic-IS, but not muscle-IS. In conclusion, one week alcohol abstinence improved hepatic IS and FPG in non-obese Japanese men with mildly elevated FPG and drinking habits alcohol.